The Village of Galena invites you to the grand re-opening of the Galena Brick Trail, improved with a $286,592 Clean Ohio Trail Fund grant and many local contributions, at noon October 26 at the Depot Lot, 268 N. Walnut St.
The Galena Brick Trail, starting at Dustin Rd. and ending at Holmes St., is a 1/2 mile trail on the old Penn Central Railroad bed. This section of the Ohio to Erie Trail traverses a historic 145’ long railroad bridge high over Little Walnut Creek featuring scenic views. A deck, built on the old railroad water tower base, offers a peaceful, wooded picnic location overlooking the Hoover Nature Preserve.
The paved trail continues through Miller Park which features a train themed playground, a gazebo, basketball and volleyball courts, a .4 mile paved walking path, picnic facilities, a port-a potty, and parking. Galena Brick Trail and Miller Park facilities are available free on a first come, first served basis. Visitors may also enjoy Galena’s downtown restaurants and retail as well as the scenic Hoover Boardwalk.
North of Holmes St., the trail, which runs past the historic site of the Galena Shale Tile and Brick factory, becomes a .3 mile grass walking path with future plans to pave the trail and eventually connect it to the Sandel Legacy Trail in Sunbury.
Those helping to make the trail possible include the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, the Delaware County Commissioners, the Delaware County Economic Development Department, Delaware County Friends of the Trail, the Village of Galena, Preservation Parks of Delaware County, the Ohio to Erie Trail Fund, the Delaware County Foundation, the City of Columbus Recreation and Parks Department, the Sunbury Galena Rotary Club, CT Consulting, the Righter Company, Law Excavating, and all the people who donated to a Go Fund Me campaign.

Mayor Andrew J. Ginther invites you to his Family Bike Ride on the new Camp Chase Trail.

Saturday, August 13 at 11 am

Hilltop YMCA, 2879 Valleyview Drive, 43204

Bring your bike and helmet and be among the first people to ride the new trail with Mayor Ginther. Also get the chance to enjoy outdoor activities, food and prizes.

The City of Columbus is proud to celebrate the nearly complete Camp Chase Trail, which runs through the Hilltop and stretches over 12 miles, from Big Darby Creek to the west side of the city. The trail will also be a key link of the Ohio to Erie Trail, spanning over 325 miles from the Ohio River to Lake Erie.

The 12th annual Benefit Auction for the Holmes County Rails-to-Trail Coalition is set for Saturday, June 11, starting at 9:30. Bring your friends and family and join us for a Saturday of enjoyment and make an investment in Holmes County’s unique non-motorized transportation and recreation corridor.

The trail is always in need of help to maintain it for all to use. We are looking for volunteers who would take on one of the following for the summer. Some of these are needed weekly. If you don’t have that much time maybe you could partner with someone else to alternate. If you can help let us know here and we can make arrangements, in some cases we have equipment or help with gas money. Thanks for your consideration for helping out HOOT.

Heart of Ohio Trail Maintenance
Mow berms and road approaches from Mt. Liberty to Clayton Street in Centerburg, and around brick storage building at Memorial Park.

Mow berms and road approaches from Mt. Liberty to Columbus Road in Mt. Vernon, and the parking and playground areas at Simmons’s Church and Thayer roads.

Mow berms , road approaches, and trail end parking lot on the trail from Clayton St in Centerburg to Huffman road.

Trim fence lines on both sides of Clayton St in Centerburg.

Trim fence lines on both sides of SR 314 in Centerburg.

Trim fence line, bike rack, parking blocks, and playground area at Simmons Church road access area in Mt Liberty.

On Saturday May 21st in Newtown, just a few miles outside of Cincinnati, Great Parks of Hamilton County celebrated the opening of the 3.3 mile extension of the Little Miami Scenic Bike Trail that in the near future will be part of the OTET route. A future bridge across the Little Miami River will then take the OTET to Lunken Airport Trail and replace 6 miles of current street route. The OTET Fund was well represented with Board Members Taft, Moffitt and Mills who took part in the ribbon-cutting ceremony. Jack Sutton, Executive Director of Greater Parks of Hamilton County, led the ceremonies.

Bob Taft and Tom Moffitt of OTETF

Jack Sutton of Great Parks of Hamilton County, Don Mills and Tom Moffitt of OTETF, and Frank Henson of Queen City Bike.

Retired geologist Scott Brockman, left, points out to fellow rider, Gene Pass, what riders should look for on the south side of the Prairie Grass trail as they proceed toward South Charleston. Brockman will lead a geology study ride at 10 a.m. on Saturday from the shelter house behind the senior citizen center, 280 W. High St., London.

Even though he’s retired from teaching geology, Scott Brockman now combines his lifelong study of the earth’s layers with bicycling. A recumbent bike fan, Brockman will conduct a geologic exploration ride at 10 a.m., which will depart from the Prairie Grass trail head and move southwest toward South Charleston. All are welcome and the ride is free.

Brockman taught geology for 10 years at the Marion campus of The Ohio State University. Prior to that, he worked as a geologist for the Ohio Geological Survey for 25 years.

Even as a child he and his brother were interested in rocks. “Where I lived (Cincinnati), there were fossils everywhere,” Brockman said standing trailside on Monday, where he was doing some preliminary exploring to be ready for Saturday’s ride. “I set up a museum (of rocks) in second grade.”

While he went on to pursue professionally the study of the earth and its layers igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks, “everyone has had some experience with rocks,” he said.

Brockman’s branch of geology was the study of glacial deposits and glaciers existed in this area in the relatively short time ago, 15,000 to 20,000 years.

“London was once covered with ice,” Brockman said. He described a glacier as a “conveyor belt of stuff scraped up from the bottom.”

When climate change came — it existed b ack then — the glacier “stopped for a while.”

With the help of geologic and topographic maps, Brockman will show the glacier’s progress and at what points climate change caused the melting of the front of it.

He will mix in some more recent history, a mere 150 years ago, when London gained a reputation for livestock trade and why it was well suited to do it and South Charleston was not.

To learn more, come out Saturday morning at 10 a.m. to the shelter behind the senior citizens center at 280 W. High St.

Dean Shipley can be reached at 740-852-1616, ext. 1617, on Facebook at Dean Shipley or via Twitter @DeanAShipley.

A small primitive trail-side camping area is being prepared at the Prairie Grass Trailhead in London. There is a restroom, water, electricity, shelter-house, and picnic tables available at the trailhead (no shower). Plans are to have two wooden tent decks and on-grounds tents sites available. This limited facility is not intended to fund-raise, but as a service for long-distance trail users. Camping will be on a first come first service bases with donations accepted, but not required. We encourage campers to take advantage of the large map and London Cyclist Guide in the shelter-house for the location of local restaurants and amenities. The facility is expected to be opened on April 16th in celebration of the RTC Opening Day For Trails.

Welcome Long-Distance Runner Passing through Madison County

Come help us cheer on a very special person on Saturday April 2nd. A long-distance runner will be running non-stop from Columbus to Xenia on the Ohio to Erie Trail! This is a training exercise for Sunshine’s goal to run the 153-mile Spartathlon from Athens to Sparta in Greece. Her only request is that you come out and help cheer her on to encourage her to press on. She plans to start at the beginning of the paved section of the trail on West Sullivant Avenue at 7 a.m.. Then arrive at the Battelle Darby Creek Parking Lot at 8:17 a.m., and London around 10:30 a.m. She will follow the signed business street route across London. Shops plan to be open and ready to welcome folks coming in to cheer. Please consider getting a bite to eat and check out the stores while you’re here. Since Sunshine is planning to run non-stop, she will have a police escort across London so it will be easy to see where she is at. She plans to reach South Charleston around 12:27 p.m., Cedarville approximately at 2:13 p.m., and Xenia about 3:55 p.m. This is rare to find long-distance runners on this section of the trail so we are delighted to have Sunshine pass through and wish her the best of luck! Please come join us and bring your family and friends.

RTC Opening Day Activities

As we noted above, Saturday April 16th is the National RTC Opening Day For Trails. Celebrations are located all over the United States. A few groups will be celebrating along the Ohio to Erie Trail on the 50-mile sections from Columbus (Haydocy Airstream and RV) to Xenia Station from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.. The London Coffee Peddler will be the sponsor location in Madison County. Trail Sentinels will be stationed on the East and West sides of London to help riders across town and to the coffee shop on South Main Street. Watch for the Welcome cyclist signs in business windows and stop in for cyclist’s discounts that day.

April 22 is the next Full Moon Ride. Join us at the Prairie Grass Trail in London at 7:30 p.m. for a fun go-at-your-own-pace ride!